By Susan Keefe

Ministry members representing St. Gregory the Great Family of Parishes felt they received more than they gave when they journeyed to one of their twinning communities, The Cultural Center of Batahola Norte (CCBN) in Managua, Nicaragua. Deacon Ed Bayliss, Pat and Sue Keefe, Emmett Speers, John Norman, Emily Holtel-Hoag, and Sam Hoag were among the travelers.

Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish (IHM) has twinned with CCBN since 2000, 17 years after the center was founded by Sr. Margie Navarro, CSJ, a former Guardian Angels parishioner in Cincinnati, and Fr. Angel Torrellas, OP, from Spain. In 2005, IHM began the Project Education Batahola scholarship program, through which thousands of students have received educational opportunities in primary, secondary, and university schools. Women, girls, boys, and men across the community have been empowered to secure skills for a more promising future for themselves and their families.

When their routine trips to CCBN were inadvisable due to COVID-19 and internal Nicaraguan strife, the IHM group supported the Center through online meetings, phone calls, and aid offered from a distance. After seven years, in 2025 visits to the country resumed, and this social ministry group has since experienced regeneration and renewal of commitment.  

On this trip, Deacon Bayliss and Sue Keefe represented IHM’s scholarship program. Deacon Bayliss shared the words offered by Sonia Oliveras, General Coordinator of the CCBN, as the CCBN members and U.S. missionaries gathered on their first day: “Today, we remember that the Lord invites us to live with humility, simplicity of heart, and an open spirit,” said Oliveras. “Just as the tax collector asked for mercy and left filled with God’s grace, we, too, wish to open ourselves to that grace, recognizing our own fragilities and walking together to better serve our community.” The deacon found in her words clarity that God placed them at the CCBN at the right time.

For Center supporters and students, CCBN is an oasis of hope in a land that can feel very much like a desert, void of natural and spiritual sustenance. Its students range from six-year-old children to adults, including seniors over 70, who can all attend a variety of classes, which begin with basic educational studies. Vocational training helps women and men gain dignity of self and work as bakers, beauticians, retail cashiers, independent business entrepreneurs, and so much more.

Over the past few years, the Center’s psycho-social health program has also flourished, with the staff, students, and parents using their five senses to understand anguish and overcome it with peace. All of this is infused by the grace of the Holy Spirit that Oliveras spoke of in her prayer.

On this trip, the Center’s library was more than a place for books— it could be described as the heart of the visit. Through translators, guests learned directly from students about their hopes and aspirations, and appreciated the joy the students had in practicing their English skills. The children gave each missionary “footprints” they had colored and labeled Dejando Huellas, “Leaving Footprints.” One young female student, with wisdom beyond her years, wrote on her card: “The teaching that leaves a mark is not the one that is done head-to-head, but from heart to heart.”

During a special moment, four middle aged women shared their stories. At this time of their life, women in Nicaragua are typically deemed “unemployable,” but these women beamed as they told of learning to bake, sew Quinceañera dresses and tote bags, and so much more. Through the teachings and the mental and spiritual guidance of the Center’s staff, each woman found value in herself. They now have a purpose and are committed to using the opportunities offered within the Cultural Center to continue to grow, applying their newfound skills to make a better life for themselves and their families. 

The visit’s last day brought tears of joy and embraces of true friendship. A bond has formed for over two decades, and new friendships blossomed over this visit’s few days. In Nicaragua, they did not want to say “adios” or “goodbye” but “hasta proxima”— “until we meet again.” The ministry’s goal is to make twinning visits annually.

 Forty other parishes in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati are also in life-giving and faith-filled twinning relationships, including the other members of the St. Gregory the Great Family of Parishes—Guardian Angels and St. John Fisher. 

For more information on the Project Education for Batahola program, contact [email protected]. For more information about parish twinning and supporting our 1,200 mission dioceses through The Pontifical Missions Societies, contact the Mission Office at [email protected] or visit www.catholicaoc.org.